Teachers call for improved working conditions

The Ketu District Council of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has called on the Government to improve salaries and working conditions of teachers.

Mickson Kwame Akpavor, the Chairman of the Council, said salaries and working conditions of teachers did not match the efforts and commitment they put in to educate the future leaders of Ghana, thus, deserved more motivation to give off their best.

The Chairman, in his welcome address during the Sixth Quadrennial and 53rd Delegate's Conference of the Union at Aflao in the Volta Region, said though the task had been daunting for teachers, the love and trust from colleagues made it easy for leadership to sail through.

He said the Council chalked successes including securing the Secretariat’s land by fencing it and ensuring the welfare of members by attending to their issues on individual basis, visiting schools and constantly updating colleagues on social media platforms.

Mr Akpavor, who retained his position to lead the Council for four more years, said leadership would have successfully served members but for challenges with salaries and working conditions, and called for government’s intervention.

“We cannot continue to use pre-COVID salary, pre-COVID Recovery Tax Salary, Pre Borla Tax Salary from January 2020 to survive in May 2021. We are pleading with the President and all those who matter to fast-track the negotiation of the base pay and the minimum wage,” he said.

Mr Akpavor identified other challenges beyond the capabilities of the leadership and asked for solution in the interest of colleagues.

“Two of such challenges are the Legacy Arrears and Diploma teachers waiting for more than seven years before they can upgrade themselves with a degree whilst the Colleges of Education are now awarding Degrees. We are appealing to the Ghana Education Service Management to take a second look at these two issues.”

The conference was on the theme: GNAT@90; Surviving as a Reliable Teacher Union in the 21st Century: Empowering the Young Teacher for Brighter Future.

It saw all the other eight executives getting the nod of delegates to continue with their mandate for the next four years.